Double beam automotive spotlight



.Tune 2, 1953 N, A, TORNBLOM 2,640,912

DOUBLE BEAM AUTOMOTIVE SPOTLIGHT Filed July 8l 1949 Patented June 2, 1953 DOUBLE BEAM AUTOMOTIVE SPOTLIGHT Nils A. Tornblom, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Appleton Electric Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application July 8, 1949, Serial No. 103,706

4 Claims. (Cl. 24U-61.13)

The present invention relates generally to accessories for use on. automotive vehicles and more specifically to a novel double beam spotlight having particular utility in applications of this nature.

Occasions frequently arise when an automobile owner requires la close, adjustable, source of steady light powered from the automobile storage battery but diffused to a much greater extent than the beam of a conventional automobile spotlight. Situations such as changing a tire at night, temporarily illuminating the scene of a highway accident, performing emergency repairs on the engine, along with a host of other examples, could be cited as illustrative of the need for an appropriate light source. The problem has been met heretofore through the use of Iiares, hand flashlights, and various kinds of extension lamps powered directly from the automobile battery. The first two arrangements are highly inconvenient. Devices of the kind last mentioned are somewhat more satisfactory but represent a needless duplication of lighting facilities when a car is already equipped with a conventional spotlight.

One object of the present-invention is to provide a novel and improved automobile spotlight which will be capable of producing selectively either ka spot or a iood type beam.

Another object is to provide a spotlight of the foregoing character which will be of simple and relatively inexpensive construction.

-A further object is to provide a spotlight of the type set forth which will have a novel and inexpensive selector switch possessing long life and great reliability.

Another object is to provide a spotlight of the above type which will include a self-contained but easily accessible protective fuse.

Other objects and advantages willbecome apparent as the following detailed description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 2 is a side elevation of an illustrative spotlight embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, broken vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through the spotlight of Fig. l and along the medial plane of the latter.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view through the spotlight of Fig. 2 and taken in the plane of the line 3 3.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view detailing certain of the electrical connections located within the lamp housing.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view the lamp housing outside the latter.

through the spotlight shown in Fig. 2 and taken in the plane of the line 5 5.

Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged transverse sectional views through the spotlight of Fig. 2, such views being taken in the plane of the line B--S but with the end cap removed so as to show internal details more clearly.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View detailing the selector switch of the spotlight shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevation showing one endof the switch head with the switch positions indicated thereon.

While the invention is susceptible of various modications and alternative constructions, `a preferred embodiment has been shown in the drawings and will be described below in considerable detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 and illustrative spotlight I0 embodying the present invention and comprising a lamp head I I and a switch head I2, both rigidly xed to opposite ends of a supporting tube I4 and defining therewith a frame for the spotlight. The lamp head II comprises a hollow tting I5 which nserves as a swivel support for base I6 of lamp housing I8, the base Iand housing being adapted to swivel together about an axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube I4. Rotation of the lamp housing I8 and its base about such perpendicular axis may readily be effected by means of a handle I9 journaled within the switch head I2 and rotatable about an axis also substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube I4. Swivelly fixed to one end of the tting I5, as by means of pin andgroove 20, 2|, is a nut 22 which threadedly engages ia mounting pad 24. This structure permits the spotlight I0 to be secured upon the body of a motor vehicle with `Such arrangement also permits bodily swiveling of the entire spotlight about the longitudinal axis of the supporting tube I4 in response to the exertion of an appropriate force on the handle I9. Accidental swiveling of the spotlight about this axis is precluded by the use of a friction element (not shown) between the mounting pad 24 and the supporting tube I4.

The lamp housing |8 in the present instance is fashioned as a dished sheet metal member having the general shape of a hyperboloid. It is designed preferably to accommodate a. lamp of the pre-focused type and which is frequently referred to in the trade as a sealed beam lamp. By this. is meant a lamp having a sealed envelope which serves as a combined reiiector and lens. As the drawing indicates, the lamp 25 is provided with two separate filaments 25, 28, the former being adapted when energized to pro duce a spot type beam and the latter being adapted to produce a widely diverging or ilood type beam. The laments 25, 2`3"are connected at one end to a common termin'a1'29 Whichregis'- ters with a corresponding terminal 29A mounted in the housing |S and grounded thereto by lead 21. At its end remote from the common terminal 29, the filament 26 connects with' a terniinal 30 which registers with a corresponding terminal 38A in the lamp housing. By the same token, the opposite end of the filament 253' con nects with a terminal tl'disposed in'registry with a corresponding terminal 31A `mounted in the housing I8.` 'While thev lamp 25 maybe detachably secured within' the housing it in any suitw able manner, it is retained in the present instance by the use of an annular clamping band 32, the' latter in turn being secured to the housing I8 as by means of one or more screws 34.

Adjusting torque is transmitted in a somewhat conventional manner from the handle |l to the housing I3 for effecting swivelmoveinent of thc latter about an axis perpendicular to the supporting tube I4. This is accompli-shed by the use of a driving stem 35 integral with the handle I9 and having fixed on its inner end a bevel gear 36 housed within hollow fitting 3% of the switch head I2. Also housed within the fitting 3S and disposed in meshing engagement with the gear 3E is another bevel gear 39. The la'tteris journaled in bearing 4band is formed with a central opening'of square cross section. Such opening drivingly receives squared portion ai ofa dr'lveshait 42 which runs longitudinally of the supporting tube It. The end portion of the drive shaft a2 remotevfrom the gear 39s Journaled in bearing M located within the fitting l 5 ofthe lamp head. Rigidly fixed on this end of the shaft $21 is a bevel gear 45 whichmeshes with another bevel'gear 46 drivingly connected to the lamp housing in any suitable manner. InA the present instance', the gear 46 `is formed with' a-squared hub which telescopes into a corresponding recess in bushing 63. 'The upper face of the latter issuitablyrec'cssecl to engage diametricaliy opposed lugs 4B of a stepped sleeve member 5t which projects into the basefli. The sleeve member has asquared medial portion (Fig. 3) which engage'sa complementary socket'in the `base It. To produce adequateiriction between the base |6- andthe fitting l5 so as to prevent spontaneous swiveling or the lamp housing, a resilient friction washer 5| is interposed betweenthe inner face of thebase I6 and a'bushing 52 surrounding`V the sleeve member 5i). A horseshoe collar. 54 maintains the bushing 52 in place and thereby securesthe lamp housingV I8 lto the lamp head tting I5'.

gral supporting flange 58 intermediate its ends. Located on the barrel 56 within diametrically opposed, axially extending slots 59, t are a pair of movable contact members 6|, 62. The latter are preferably fashioned from low resistance leai spring material such as Phosphor bronze and are slightly narrower than their respective slots so as to be free todeect radially therein. Since the slots 59, S0 extend into the mounting flange 58 and the normal bias of the members 6|, S2 causes them to flex radially outward, the inner or left hand.' end of the barrel is provided with a snugly fitted insulated retaining washer Sil overlying the'members 5|, t2,

The switch 55v includes a self-contained protective feature in the form of a relatively small cartridge typel fuse 65 of the kind commonly used in automobile electrical systems (Figs. 2 and 8). The fuse 55 is housed within the longitudinal bore of the barrel 516. 1n the practice of the invention, full advantage 'is taken of the presence of the fuse in the construction of the switch, the outermost or right hand metal end cap SG of the fuse being utilized'as the stationary central Contact of the selector switch. Power is supplied to this central Contact from external supply lead Gil, one end of which is connected to the ungi'ounded side of the automobile electrical system. rl'he other end of the lead Bconnects with metal strap 59 nxed to the inner end of the barrel and isolated from the contact members 6|, 52. The strap 69 has fixed thereto a small conductive coil spring 1Q housed within the bore of the barrel and adapted to yieldingly abut the innermost end of the fuse' 55'. The latter is securely held in place by' resilient padl which exerts an axial thrust on the fuse in opposition to that of the spring 7:?. The pad l! is carriedby an access cap 12 of para.n bclic.` cross section and which is threadedly secured to boss 14 ofswitch head tting 38.

For the purpose of flexing of the contact members "nil, 621 selectively into engagement withv the fixed contactI 65, the switch barrel has mounted thereon a flanged operating collar 'i5 of insulating material. The latter is maintained in place by means of a snap ring 'i6 which engages an annular groove l5 on the inside of the boss 7f3. yhe ring andgroovev i6, is incidentally hold the switch 55 in place Within the switch head fitting "i8, the washer 64 abutting snugly against a small annular shoulder'' 'within such fitting. The inner` peripheral surface ofthe collar 'l5 is fashioned with a pair of grooves 80, 8| which are spaced circumferentially so that their axes intersect at anangle somewhat less than To cooperate with the grooves 8i), 8|, each of the flexible contact members is formed with a cam-lire embossment 82, 84. The'fparts are so proportioned that the collar will have afneutral or off position (Figs. 2, 5 andl 6) wherein the embossments 82, 84 both-project into their associated grooves 80, 8|. Under these conditions, the members 6|, 62 are both flexed radially outward due to their inherent bias and neither touches the fixed Contact Sil. In the-event that the operating collar should be rotated'through'a'small angle in one direction, for example, clockwisev as indicated in Fig. the embossment 82 will be cammed out of its groove andthe inner peripheral surface ofthe collar will ride over it, resulting in flexing of the movable contact member 6| into engagement with the'xed contact 56. If such angular movement be limitedv to the circumferential length of the opposite slot 8|, the contact member 62 Will remain` out of engagement in its-open circuit position. By the saine token, should the collar be rotated from the neutral position of Figs. 5 and 6 through a similar angle but in the countercloclrwise direction, the contact i6| will remain in open circuit position while the contact 62 will be exed inwardly to its closed circuit position against the contact 66.

In order to provide a ready means for turning the collar l5, there is mounted on the boss 14 a switch actuating ring 85 having one or more positioning lugs 86. The ring 85 has an inwardly projecting tongue 88 which registers with a notch in the flange of the operating collar 15. To provide clearance for the tongue 88, the boss 14 has a segmental slot 89, the ends of the latter serving as positive mechanical stops for the ring and collar 85, 15.

Provision is made in the spotlight I for making individual electrical connections between the ungrounded ends of the lamp laments 26, 28 and the exible contact members l, y52 of the selector switch 55, thereby rendering each filament selectively energizable. This is accomplished by utiliz.'- ing certain ones of the torque transmitting members to define the major portion of one of the circuits, in the present instance the spot filament circuit, and by running a second and independent circuit for the flood filament axially of the torque transmitting members. Turning once more to Figs. 2 and 8, it will be perceived that the innermost end of iiexible contact member 6| bears against the peripheral surface `of one end portion of the drive shaft 42. The latter, together with its associated bevel gears `39, 45, is electrically isolated from the frame of the spotlight l0 by means of insulating bushings 90, 9| and insulating sleeve 92. To preclude grounding of the switch head end of the shaft 42 through the gear 38 and driving stem 35, the latter is surrounded by an insulating bushing '94. Grounding of the left hand or lamp head end of the drive shaft through the gear 46 is precluded by making the bushing 48 of insulating material and also by inserting an insulating tube 95 into the sleeve member 50. To complete the electrical circuit between the gear 48 and the spot filament 26, the former has fixed therein an axially extending conductive sleeve 95 Which telescopes within the insulating tube 95. Electrically connected to the upper end of the sleeve 96 is a generally cylindrical terminal member 98. A relatively short jumper lead 99 connects the terminal 98 with spot filament terminal 30A in the lamp housing.

Turning now to the iiood filament circuit, it will be perceived that the innermost end of iiex- .ible contact member 62 abuts against a contact button |00 on the end of the drive shaft 42 but insulated therefrom by means of a non-conductive washer |0|. The opposite end of the shaft 42 is similarly provided with a contact button |02 somewhat longer than the button |00 and which is insulated from the shaft by means of non-conductive washer |04. To permit an electrical connection to be made between the buttons |00, |02, the shaft 42 is of tubular construction and an insulated wire |05 is run axially thereof and soldered to the contact buttons at either end. The circuit between the contact button |02 and the flood filament 2-8 is further dened by a conductor pin |06 mounted within the sleeve 915 but electrically isolated therefrom by means of an insulating tube |08. In the present instance, the pin |08 is provided with a convex head |09 which is yieldably urged into contact with the button |02 by means of a conductive compression spring ||0. place by an insulating washer carried by the terminal 98, the spring ||0 making contact with a metallic bushing ||2. Soldered or otherwise secured to this bushing is a jumper lead I4 which connects with iiood filament terminal 3|A in the lamp housing. This arrangement permits rotation of either the button |02, the pin |08, or both, as an incident to adjustment of the spotlight Without interruption of the iiood lament circuit.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that either lamp filament of the spotlight I0 may be energized selectively simply by `flicking the switch 55 into its spot or into its flood position. Moreover, the switch can be actuated by the -thumb of the operator as an incident to adjustment of the spotlight through the use of the handle |9. Such actuation can be accomplished entirely by touch Without requiring the driver of the automobile to focus his eyes directly upon the switch operating lug 86. In addition, a shift can be made from one beam to the other regardless of the position in which the spotlight may be adjusted.

The spotlight I0 may be installed without diiculty simply by loosening clamping bolt ||5 and withdrawing the drive shaft 42 and supporting tube from the switch head |2. This can be done without dislocating the gear 39 which is held in position by the gear 3B and the bearing 40. After removal of the switch head, the end of the drive shaft and supporting tube may be inserted through the mounting hole in the vehicle body and the mounting pad subsequently bolted in place. The switch head may then be remounted upon the supporting tube and secured by means of bolt l5.

The arrangement of electrical parts utilized in vthe spotlight I0 possesses a number of other advantages in addition to those already set forth herein. Notwithstanding its simplicity and low cost, the sliding contact arrangement is exceptionally rugged and is substantially unaffected by vibration incident to use in a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the electrical system of the automobile is eiiectively protected in the event of damage to the spotlight by means of the selfcontained but readily accessible fuse 65. Moreover, the novel combination and arrangement of parts in the selector switch 55 eliminates the need for screws and other conventional fastening devices, at the same time endowing the switch with reliability and long life.

I claim as my invention:

A spotlight of the character set forth comprising, in combination, a supporting tube, a lamp head fitting fixed to one end of said supporting tube, a lamp housing mounted on said lamp head fitting for swivel movement about an axis perpendicular to said supporting tube, a prefocused lamp having a spot lament and a iiood lament, said lamp also having an integral lens and reector, terminals within said lamp housing, means for detachably securing said lamp in said housing in registry with said terminals, a switch head fitting fixed to the opposite end of said supporting tube, an adjusting handle journaled in said switch head fitting and insulated therefrom, a hollow drive shaft insulated from the supporting tube of said spotlight a first driving means connecting said handle and said drive shaft, a second driving means connecting said lamp housing and said drive Shaft electrical connections between said second driving means and one of said lamp filaments, an

The latter is held inv axial conductor housed within said drive shaft but insulated therefrom, a headed conducting pin housed within said second driving means but insulated therefrom, means connecting said conducting pin with the other of said lamp filaments, and switch means for energizing either of said lamp ilaments selectively via the alternative paths of which said drive shaft and said axial conductor respectively comprise integral links.

2. A double beam spotlight for motor vehicles and the like comprising, in combination, a frame including a supporting tube, a lamp housing mountedadjacent one end of said supporting tube for swivel movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the latter, a lamp within said housing having a pair of filaments, a switch head having an adjusting handle journaled therein, torque transmitting members interposed between said handle and said lamp housing, said members being electrically insulated from the frame of said spotlight, and electrical connecting members concentric with certain ones of said torque transmitting members but insulated therefrom, a switch mounted in said switch head and having,r terminals in contact respectively with said torque transmitting members and said electrical connecting members, said switch being adapted to eiect the energizing of said lamp iilaments selectively via the alternative paths presented by said torque transmitting members and said electrical connectingmembers.

3. A spotlight for motor vehicles and the like comprising, in combination, a frame including a supportingr tube, a lamp housing mounted ad jacent one end of said supporting tube for swivel movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the latter, said lamp housing being adapted to receive a preocused lamp having a spot filament and a flood filament, a common lamp terminal grounded to said lamp housing, a pair of insulated terminals in said lamp housing and adapted to register respectively with the spot and ood nlamcnt terminals of the lamp, a switch head having an adjusting handle thereon, torque transmitting members interposed between said handle and said lamp housing, said members being electrically insulated from the frame of said spotlight, and electrical connecting members concentric with said torque transmitting members but insulated therefrom, a selector switch mounted in said switch head having terminals connected respectively to said torque transmitting members and to said electrical connecting members, said switch being adapted to effect the energizing of saidl lamp filaments selectively via the alternative paths presented by said torque transmitting. members and said electrical connecting members.

4. A double beam spotlight for motor vehicles and the like comprising, in combination, a frame including a supporting tube, a lamp housing mounted adjacent one end of said supporting tube for swivel movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to the latter, said housing being adapted to receive a lamp having a pair of filaments, a switch head having an adjusting handle journaled therein, torque transmitting members interposed between said handle and said lamp housing, said members being electrically insulated from the frame of said spotlight, and electrical connecting,r members concentric with certain ones of said torque transmitting members but insulated'therefrom, a non-conductive barrel mounted in said switch head and having a xed contact at one end thereof, resilient movable contact members on said barrel and each having one end in proximity to said fixed Contact, the opposite ends of said resilient contact members being disposedrespectively in contact with said torque transmitting members and said electrical connecting members, and cam means for selectively iexingy said movable contact members into engagement with said fixed contact to eiect closure of the circuit between the latter and the selected one of said movable contact members.

NILS' A. TORNBLOM.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PeTEIiTS Number Name Date 1,592,878 Wittington July 20,. 1926 1,794,133 Anderson Feb. 24, 1931 1,921,784 Sklarek Aug. 8, 1933 1,921,785 Sklarek Aug. 8, 1933 1,981,204 Sklarek Nov. 20, 1934 2,191,049 Tornblom Feb. 20, 1940 2,245,793v Kurlander June 17, 1941 

